Vacuum cleaner



Sept. 12, 1939; b. HAYS AL 2,172,973

- VACUUM CLEANER Filed Dec; 25, 1936 Fi gi.

Their Attorney.

Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vAcUUM CLEANER Application December 23, 1936, Serial No. 117,352

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to movable floor tools such as vacuum cleaners, and particularly to a supporting arrangement therefor by means of which the position of a part thereof such as the suction nozzle may be readily adjusted with respect to the floor.

The object of our invention is to provide an improved construction for supporting vacuum cleaners and the like, and for a consideration of what we believe to be novel and our invention attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a vacuum cleaner having a supporting structure embodying our invention, Fig. 2 is a rear View of the supporting structure, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modification of the supporting structure.

For the purpose of illustration, our invention is shown applied to a vacuum cleaner having a body or casing within which is mounted a motor driven fan which draws air through a suction nozzle 2 and discharges the air through a dis charge conduit 3. A suitable bag may be connected to the discharge conduit for filtering the dust from the air. At the rear of the casing is pivoted a fork 4 which is adapted to be connected to a suitable handle for moving the cleaner over the surface to be cleaned. At the front end of the cleaner casing are wheels 5 rotatably carried on suitable shafts 6 suitably fixed to the casing in a manner not shown. At the rear end of the casing is fixed a bracket 1 which serves as a housing for a double-wheeled caster 8. Thebracket has side walls I and a top wall l The caster comprises wheels 9 which are fixed to a shaft I0 rotatably carried in a sleeve Ill fixed between the arms of a fork The fork is fixed to a spindle 2 which is slidably carried in a sleeve |3 fixed to the top wall l of the bracket 1. The sleeve I3 carries a screw M which projects within a longitudinal slot I5 in the spindle and prevents rotation of the spindle with respect to the sleeve. The upper end of the slot serves as a stop for limiting the downward movement of the spindle. On the rear side of the spindle |2 are a series of notches l6 which are adapted to be engaged by a latching member W to hold the spindle in a fixed position relative to the bracket 1.

The latching member I! is integral with a bell crank lever |8 which is pivoted on a rod l9 fixed between the sidewalls 1 of the bracket. The latching member I! is urged toward the notches l6 by means of a coil spring 20 arranged around the rod I 9 and having its ends respectively bearing on theunderside of the top wall l of the bracket and the underside of the arm 2| of the bell crank lever I8. The arm 2| of the bell crank lever projects through a slot 22 in the top wall of the bracket so that it is accessible to the operators foot. By exerting a downward pressure on the arm 2| the latching member may be moved clear of the notches Hi. When this is done, the spindle 2 may be moved downward relative to the bracket 1 by means of a coil spring 23 arranged around the spindle and between the lower end of the sleeve l3 and the upper surface of the caster fork The spring biases the spindle downward with respect to the bracket. Since the front supporting wheels 5 are fixed with respect to the cleaner casing it is pparent that downward movement of the spindle with respect to the bracket will cause the cleaner casing to be. pivoted about the wheels 5 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 thereby tending to lower the suction nozzle and bring it closer to the surface being cleaned. Should the operator wish to raise the suction nozzle with respect to the sur face being cleaned this can be efiected by means of a downward pressure exerted on the rear end of the casing sufficient to compress the coil spring and thereby effect movement of the spindle |2 in opposition to the force of the spring 23. This pressure may be applied in any suitable manner, for example, through the handle fork 4 or through the bracket 1. It will be noted that this arm 2| projects over the bracket 7 and that it may be pressed against the upper surface of the bracket 1 by means of a downward pressure exerted on the arm by the operator's foot, in which case the pressure required to move the caster spindle in opposition to the spring 23 is applied through the arm 2|. It is also possible to apply the necessary pressure to the bracket 1 by resting the operators foot partially on the rear end 24 of the bracket and partially on the arm 2|. When the nozzle is at the desired elevation with respect to the surface being cleaned the arm 2| is released and spring 20 moves the latching member into engagement with one of the notches l6 thereby preventing further movement of the rear wheels relative to the bracket which would change the relative position of the suction nozzle. The suction nozzle may be moved upward by merely exerting a downward force through the operators foot on the end 24 of the bracket 1. This force, due to the inclined lower surfaces of the notches l6, causes the latching member I to be forced out of the notch in which it fits,'after which the spring 20 forces it into the next lower in this figure.

' indicated by the same reference numerals.

' to the bracket 26.

spindle with respect to the bracket may now be notch. In case the suction nozzle'is lowered too far, it may therefore be easily raised in steps corresponding to the spacing of the notches. From one aspect, the notches l6 and the latching member l1 constitute a ratchet. The inclined lower surfaces of the notches make the operation easier by decreasing the force required to force the latching member I! out of the notches where a downward pressure is applied to the bracket.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modification of the construction for adjustably supporting the rear wheels with respect to the cleaner casing. The remaining part of the cleaner is of the same construction shownin Fig. 1 and is not illustrated The caster shown in Fig. 3 is of the same general construction as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the corresponding parts are The caster spindle I2 is slidably and non-rotatably carried in an opening in a bracket 24 fixed to the rear end of the cleaner casing. The caster spindle is urged downward with respect to the bracket by means of the coil spring 23 arranged around the spindle l2 and between the upper end of the caster fork H and a collar 25 integral with the bracket 24'. Downward movement of the spindle is limited by a snap ring 24 on the upper end of the spindle. As in the construction shown in Fig. l the coil spring'23 tends to move the caster spindle downward with respect to the bracket 24* and thereby tends to pivot the clean-'- er casing about the front supporting wheels 5.so as to move the suction nozzle closer to the surface being cleaned. The caster spindle is held in a fixed position with respect to the bracket 24' by means of a latching member 26 which is pivotally carried between ears 2'! on the bracket. The latching member has a pointed end 28 which is adapted to engage one. of the notches IS in the caster spindle and has an outwardly projecting arm 29 which is adapted to be engaged by-the operator's foot. A coil spring 30 arranged between the bracket 24 and the latching member biases the latching member in a direction to move the pointed end 28 into one of the notches l6. By exerting a downward pressure on the arm 29 the pointed end 28 of the latching member may be moved clear of the notches l6 thereby freeing the caster spindle for movement relative The position of the caster adjusted exerting a downward pressure on'the arm 29 either to move the cleaner casing down- .ward in opposition'of the force of the coil spring 23 or else to limit the upward movement of the cleaner casing under the action of the spring 23. When the nozzle is in the desired position the arm 29 is released thereby permitting the pointed end 28'to be moved into one of the notches It to hold the caster spindle inflxed relation to the bracket 24 I What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a floor tool of the type comprising a body having a part adapted to cooperate with a floor. a floor engaging supporting element for said body mounted for movement relative thereto whereby the position of said part is adjustable relative to the floor, means for biasing said element downward with respect to said body, locking means having a plurality of locked positions for preventing movement of said element by said biasing means whereby said element may be held in a plurality of positions, a control member carried by said body for operating said locking means, said member having a. foot engageable part movable downward by the operators foot to release said locking means, said part extending above a portion of said body so thatv upon operation of the control member to release said locking means pressure may be applied to said portion of the body by the operator's foot to eiIect movement of said body and said member in unison thereby effecting movement of said supporting element relative to said body in opposition to said biasing means, and means biasing said control member on the spindle for selectively holding the spindle in one of a plurality of vertical positions with reference to said body, and a foot operated member on said body arranged upon downward pressure thereon to release said pawl to permit sliding movement of the spindle in said body.

DAVID HAYS. GEORGE W. D 

